Waterbury evening Democrat., 1887-12-22
IRELAND AND ROME.


 
 IRELAND AND ROME.
 Ireland has ever been regarded at the Vatican as the "Insula Sanctorum." When other Catholic nations went boldly over to the Lutheran secession, or wavered in their fidelity to the Holy See-some be- coming indecently antagonistic to disci- pline-some demonstrative, in denial of the doctrines they had drank in with the first maternal teachings-stil others, with nominal allegiance to the Ancient Faith, unstable in their professions and hesitant in their affiliations between the old Church and what was called the Reformation-and many in power royal or feudal l-em phasizing their desertion by desc cration of sacred things when all these spectacles were presented to the gaze of Europe, that little island "with her back turned on Britain-her face to the West'-remained firm and faithful to the creed which St Patrick had preached to her, and loyal to the Sover eign Pontiff who occupied the Chair of St Peter. Even when Penal Laws pressed sorely on the people; when persecution in every shape, social, political and religious was levelled against them; when the son was bribed to betray the sire; when it was crime, punishable with the punishment accorded to murder, for the Catholic school master to educate children, or for the Catholic priest to perform the duties of his sacred ofice-when insult was offered to.injury in all the forms that fanaticism could devise, the spirit of the Irish re- mained unbroken, their fidelity unshaken and their zeal for the Church unimpaired.
 We do not recall these prosecutions with any bitter associations-with any aim at reprisal-but simply to show how vain was the thought and impious the attempts of England to mould the Holy See to an ap- proval or endorsement of her anti-Irish policy-to procure from the Pope who so loves the country that had ever loved His Holiness a condemnation of that country for the pursuit of national redemption or prohibition of her prelates and priests from participation in their peoples strug gles. Perhaps England was emboldened in the aspiration by the historical fact that Pope had given over Ireland, body and soul, to the possession of Henry II; but failed to appreciate the qualifying ingredi- ent that that Pope was an Englishman- Nicholas Breakspear-who acceded to the Popedom under the title of Adrian W. At any rate the aspiration for crushing out Ireland by aid of the Vatican has been of long existence. Lord Minto tried to give it effect in the Sacred Councils of the Pro- paganda, but ingloriously failed, and quailed beneath the sense of right and gratitude of Plus the Ninth. A MT Firing ton "tried it on'' a few years ago, but fared no better at the hands of the good and gentle Leo XIII. And this year when Mgr Persico and his associate legates were sent to Ireland to make special investiga- ton and report on the state of the country and the relations of priests and people in patriotic policy, the occasion was snatched at by English statesmen as one to be i'm manipulate Mgr Persisco's report into @ con demnation of clerical action in Irish na- tional movement. The matter was we'll contrived. An English Catholic nobleman the Duke of Norfolk-was selected to proceed to Rome in a semi-diplomatic mis- sion to the Vatican The fact of the Cath olicism of his Grace was regarded as special recommendatory attribute for the mission; but here the English states men forgot what is well known and re- membered in the Colleges of Cardinals, that English Catholics as rule are more antagonistic to the civil liberties of their brothers of the faith in Ireland than are the most pronounced of their Protestant opponents
 The selection of the Duke for the deli cate-we should perhaps write desperate mission of directing the Pope's action in regard to the Archbishops, Bishops and Priests connection with Irish patriotic efforts, was an unwise, and for the mis- sionary and England, an unhappy one. The Duke has come back with flea in his ear. Leo XIII refuses to condemn or coerce the Irish Hierarchy, in the sentiment for and support of the patriotic efforts of the faithful people. There will be weeping and wailing at Windsor CastleNthat the sssurpliced ruffians' as the Crimes" styled the priesthood of Ireland, will, unchecked